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February 03, 2011

Arguing Angela Onwuachi-Willig's merits to the right audience

My friend and former colleague Angela Onwuachi-Willig is one of the nine finalists for three spots on the Iowa Supreme Court. Over at Concurring Opinions, Kaimipono Wenger provides "[a] few reasons) why [she] should be appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court," but it really reads like "a few reasons why Kaimipono Wenger thinks he would be happy if she is appointed to the Iowa Supreme Court":

Given the backdrop of the current Iowa vacancies — they are the direct result of a homophobic right-wing smear campaign — I am thrilled to see Angela’s name on the shortlist. I can think of no better way to respond to the anti-gay hate machine than to fill a court vacancy with a smart, articulate, energetic Black woman who is committed to LGBT rights — and to a principled and progressive feminist and antiracist legal philosophy as well.

However, elections matter. Culver lost his bid for re-election to Terry Branstad, a Republican former governor of Iowa from 1982 to 1998. I wasn't in Iowa at the time, but my sense from listening to my former colleagues was that he was kind of a moderate Republican. Branstad is theonly audience to whom arguments about Angela Onwuachi-Willig's merits matter.

Is there reason to believe that Branstad would be positively influenced by her support for same-sex marriage -- including her signing the pro-same-sex marriage amicus brief in Varnum? Perhaps not, considering that Branstad said recently, "What the people of Iowa want is an opportunity to vote on marriage defined as one man and one woman."

For similar reasons, I do not think that Branstad will be at all moved to appoint her as a way to respond to those who booted the three Justices for supporting Varnum. Nor does it seem like a good way to advocate for her by noting that she is committed "to LGBT rights — and to a principled and progressive feminist and antiracist legal philosophy." Antiracist legal philosophy? It strikes me that denying any room for reasonable minds, as Professor Wenger does, to disagree on legal issues by characterizing anyone who disagrees as racist is not a persuasive tactic, especially when you're calling out some (not all) of Branstad's supporters -- and hence, in a sense, Branstad -- as racist.

Moreover, while Professor Wenger is free himself to characterize the opposition to the Varnumdecision as "a homophobic right-wing smear campaign," the danger is that readers may assume that this accurately describes how Professor Onwuachi-Willig would herself characterize that opposition. Based in general on her scholarly approach and the way that she and I have chatted about various subjects over the years, I do not see her using such inflammatory and imprecise terms.

Indeed, as I will explain shortly, Angela Onwuachi-Willig's legal scholarship -- and indeed, her general legal philosophy -- are far more nuanced and independent than the near-caricature depicted in Professor Wenger's post. Arguing for Branstad to appoint someone who is committed "to a principled and progressive feminist and antiracist legal philosophy" is sort of like arguing to Barack Obama that he should nominate John Yoo to the Supreme Court because Professor Yoo is committed "to a principle of a robust executive with broad, unfettered discretion to best protect the public." I mean, that's an exaggeration, but not too much of one.

Here are my reasons for why I think Governor Branstad should appoint Professor Onwuachi-Willig to the Iowa Supreme Court, based on my having been her colleague and friend for several years:

Personal Qualities: She is smart, hard-working, conscientious, and a delight to have as a colleague, all of which I think are important considerations for a small deliberative body like the Iowa Supreme Court.

Independence: As noted above, Professor Wenger's description of Angela Onwuachi-Willig's views strikes me as something of a distorted caricature, much like those fun house mirrors. One of her articles that garnered a lot of attention is Just Another Brother on the SCT?: What Justice Clarence Thomas Teaches Us About the Influence of Racial Identity, 90 Iowa Law Review 931 (2005), in which she makes the case that Justice Clarence Thomas's conservative legal views are based on a unique, black conservative perspective. Remember that liberals often derided Justice Thomas as a Justice Scalia-clone, or as Scalia's second vote. In this article, Professor Onwuachi-Willig clearly distinguishes herself from that trite -- and inaccurate -- assessment to provide a bold and new way of looking at Justice Thomas:

A review of Justice Thomas's jurisprudence reveals that there is no basis for the claim that Justice Thomas is a “Scalia clone” or “Scalia puppet” and supports the proposition that Justice Thomas has been unfairly subjected to the stereotype of black incompetence. In fact, Justice Thomas has developed his own jurisprudence as a black conservative, directly and indirectly weaving his own “raced” ideologies into his opinions.

In my interactions with Professor Onwuachi-Willig, I haven't always agreed with her conclusions (though I often have). But I've always felt that her conclusions were the product of serious thinking and research. On more than one occasion, she has shown me new ways of thinking about an issue. This independence will be a valuable trait for a Supreme Court Justice.

Judicial Integrity: Presumably, much might be made of her signing the amicus brief in Varnum or her scholarship (particularly as caricatured by Professor Wenger). But I think it is important to keep in mind the difference between being an advocate -- especially as a scholar -- and being a judge. I do not think she would be an activist judge in the mold of, say, the recently thrice-reversed (in one week!) Stephen Reinhardt. This is not to say that one can't divine some inkling of her judicial philosophy from her writings, though Governor Branstad can simply ask her directly about that during his interview of her. The point is that I would use her scholarship primarily to assess her critical thinking and analytical skills, her clarity of writing, and her logical reasoning, all of which are top-notch.

* * *

In short, I think Governor Branstad should focus carefully on Angela Onwuachi-Willig's merits, and not dismiss her based on some inaccurate characterizations (and caricatures). Like most of us, she holds complex and nuanced views on a variety of issues. What is important is that she has the intelligence, work ethic, and integrity to be a Justice on the Iowa Supreme Court.

Comments

A very nice post that makes me regret I didn't take any of Professor Onwuachi-Willig's courses during my time at Iowa. I'm sure she would do a good job on the court, though I don't know anything about the other candidates.

As a somewhat-related aside, Professor Wenger's comical comments betray the big lie about "merit selection"--that it takes the politics out. Instead of focusing on her intellect or experience, Professor O-W's candidacy is used as a cudgel against those evil homophobic right-wing racists. Now, certainly the other extreme, partisan elections, has the tendency to politicize the courts in at least equally distasteful ways. But at least it's openly political. As long as judges are chosen by politicians, it will be political. Merit selection just hides it.